Does re-creation of extensive pasture-forest mosaics provide an economically sustainable way of nature conservation in Sweden''s forest dominated regions?

There is a major risk that many of the remaining semi-natural pastures in Swedish forest dominated regions will lose their grazing in the near future with lost biodiversity as a result. The reason is the high costs of grazing small pastures with cattle from generally small herds. The approaching decoupling of the present EU income support per head of cattle will increase the risk. Calculations based on economies of scale in beef production and opportunity cost of forest and arable land suggest that re-creating extensive pasture-forest mosaics consisting of existing semi-natural pastures and adjacent arable fields and forests can secure economically sustainable grazing. The risk of local extinction of grassland species due to habitat isolation is also lower in large mosaics than in small, scattered pastures.     

Conflicting human interests over the re-introduction of endangered wild dogs in South Africa

In South Africa, a plan was launched to manage separate sub-populations of endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in several small, geographically isolated, conservation areas as a single meta-population. This intensive management approach involves the re-introduction of wild dogs into suitable conservation areas and periodic translocations among them. To assess the attitudes towards re-introduced wild dogs, we conducted a questionnaire survey of multiple stakeholders—local community members, private landowners and tourists—in and around Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP), one of the meta-population conservation areas. Here, we document conflicting human interests over the re-introduced wild dogs. Tourists in HiP, on the one hand, expressed overwhelmingly positive opinions about wild dogs across personal details of the respondents, but especially after having seen free-ranging wild dogs. On the other hand, we found misconceptions and perceptions that were more negative among the rural population around HiP, again largely independent of personal details of the participants, although educated respondents voiced more favourable views of wild dogs. These negative attitudes were in particular due to perceived and real threats of livestock losses. In a follow-up questionnaire survey, we also discovered apparent shortcomings of a previous short-lived conservation education programme among the local communities adjacent to HiP. Consequently, the mitigation of the conflict between wild dogs and rural people requires an understanding of the conditions under which livestock predation occurs, the encouragement of practices that prevent such predation, and increasing local tolerance of co-existence with wild dogs through both economic and non-monetary incentive schemes as well as continued conservation education.     

Leopard diets and landowner perceptions of human wildlife conflict in the Soutpansberg Mountains,South Africa

Human-wildlife conflict between carnivores and livestock and game owners is an issue of high conservation concern and has led to the global decline of many large carnivore species. Research has shown that carnivores are often blamed for higher levels of predation of livestock and game than actually occurs and this often leads to retaliatory killing. The aim of this study was to obtain information via scat analysis on the range of prey species taken by leopards in the Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa, and combine these data with self-reported accounts of livestock predation from local landowners to examine differences between real and perceived leopard predation. Results showed that despite landowners reporting frequent events of leopard predation of livestock and introduced farmed game across the Soutpansberg farming community, no evidence of these species were found in leopard diets. The most frequently eaten species by relative biomass were bushbuck, hyrax and vervet monkeys; in contrast, the farmers reported cattle and impala as often being taken by leopards. Despite sharing the landscape with domestic cattle and introduced game, leopards in the Soutpansberg do not frequently utilise these species as prey and instead focus their diets on wild species. Human-carnivore conflict can be reduced by overcoming the mismatch between actual and perceived levels of predation via landowner education, effective anti-predation measures, an improved government response to reports of livestock predation and potentially giving economic value to problem animals via trophy hunting.     

Foraging theory provides a useful framework for livestock predation management

A societal shift toward plant dominant diets and a reduction in livestock rearing could have broad social, environmental and conservation benefits. Livestock husbandry, however, has a wealthy cultural history, strong support and high consumer demand. It is therefore likely to continue as a major land use and conservation issue for predators. From a producer’s perspective, the primary goals of livestock protection are maximising, or at least maintaining, production by minimising losses and mitigating detriment to stock welfare. Lethal removal of predators remains a commonplace solution. Such management measures are questionable as they raise animal welfare and conservation concerns, risk inhibiting ecological processes, are often expensive, and in some circumstances, exacerbate livestock predation problems. Non-lethal alternatives can facilitate co-existence between livestock farmers and predators, ideally reducing the ecological impact of pastoralism and achieving conservation goals. The need for rigorous study of non-lethal approaches has however been recently highlighted. Tools and methods involved in livestock protection, as well as the theoretical basis of how we perceive and manage the problem, require deeper consideration. Non-lethal approaches require knowledgeable implementation and an effective decision making system is a prerequisite for successful practice. Livestock predation and its prevention are fundamentally influenced by the underlying principles of foraging ecology and risk theory. We propose that manipulating elements of Brown’s (1988) quitting harvest rate model provides a useful conceptual framework for reducing livestock predation and encouraging coexistence.     

Tracking gastrointestinal nematode risk on cattle farms through pasture contamination mapping

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) parasites in grazing cattle are a major cause of production loss and their control is increasingly difficult due to anthelmintic resistance and climate change. Rotational grazing can support control and decrease reliance on chemical intervention, but is often complex due to the need to track grazing periods and infection levels, and the effect of weather on larval availability. In this paper, a simulation model was developed to predict the availability of infective larvae of the bovine GIN, Ostertagia ostertagi, at the level of individual pastures. The model was applied within a complex rotational grazing system and successfully reproduced observed variation in larval density between fields and over time. Four groups of cattle in their second grazing season (n = 44) were followed throughout the temperate grazing season with regular assessment of GIN faecal egg counts, which were dominated by O. ostertagi, animal weight and recording of field rotations. Each group of cattle was rotationally grazed on six group-specific fields throughout the 2019 grazing season. Maps and calendars were produced to illustrate the change in pasture infectivity (density of L3 on herbage) across the 24 separate grazing fields. Simulations predicted differences in pasture contamination levels in relation to the timing of grazing and the return period. A proportion of L3 was predicted to persist on herbage over winter, declining to similar intensities across fields before the start of the following grazing season, irrespective of contamination levels in the previous year. Model predictions showed good agreement with pasture larval counts. The model also simulated differences in seasonal pasture infectivity under rotational grazing in systems that differed in temperature and rainfall profiles. Further application could support individual farm decisions on evasive grazing and refugia management, and improved regional evaluation of optimal grazing strategies for parasite control. The integration of weather and livestock movement is inherent to the model, and facilitates consideration of climate change adaptation through improved disease control.     

Generalist nematodes dominate the nemabiome of roe deer in sympatry with sheep at a regional level

The growth of livestock farming and the recent expansion of wild ungulate populations in Europe favor opportunities for direct and/or indirect cross-transmission of pathogens. Comparatively few studies have investigated the epidemiology of gastro-intestinal nematode parasites, an ubiquitous and important community of parasites of ungulates, at the wildlife/livestock interface. In this study, we aimed to assess the influence of livestock proximity on the gastrointestinal nematode community of roe deer in a rural landscape located in southern France. Using ITS-2 rDNA nemabiome metabarcoding on fecal larvae, we analysed the gastrointestinal nematode communities of roe deer and sheep. In addition, we investigated Haemonchus contortus nad4 mtDNA diversity to specifically test parasite circulation among domestic and wild host populations. The dominant gastrointestinal nematode species found in both the roe deer and sheep were generalist species commonly found in small ruminant livestock (e.g. H. contortus), whereas the more specialised wild cervid nematode species (e.g. Ostertagia leptospicularis) were only present at low frequencies. This is in marked contrast with previous studies that found the nemabiomes of wild cervid populations to be dominated by cervid specialist nematode species. In addition, the lack of genetic structure of the nad4 mtDNA of H. contortus populations between host species suggests circulation of gastrointestinal nematodes between roe deer and sheep. The risk of contact with livestock only has a small influence on the nemabiome of roe deer, suggesting the parasite population of roe deer has been displaced by generalist livestock parasites due to many decades of sheep farming, not only for deer grazing close to pastures, but also at a larger regional scale. We also observed some seasonal variation in the nemabiome composition of roe deer. Overall, our results demonstrate significant exchange of gastrointestinal nematodes between domestic and wild ungulates, with generalist species spilling over from domestic ungulates dominating wild cervid parasite communities.     

Seasonal variation in toxic steroidal alkaloids of foothill death camas (Zigadenus paniculatus)

Death camas (Zigadenus spp.) is a common poisonous plant in North America with plants occurring in a wide variety of habitats with species of toxic concern occurring primarily in meadows, grasslands, shrublands, and mountains. The toxicity of Zigadenus species has been attributed to a series of steroidal alkaloids. The objective of this study was to evaluate zygacine and total steroidal alkaloid concentrations in different plant tissues of Zigadenus paniculatus as a function of plant maturity. Death camas plants were collected at two locations at different developmental growth stages representing vegetative, flower, seed pod, and shattered seed pod stages. Zygacine represented greater than 50% of the total steroidal alkaloids at all developmental stages. In bulbs, total steroidal alkaloid and zygacine concentrations did not change significantly as a function of plant phenology, and concentrations were lower than what were observed in above ground plant parts. Total steroidal alkaloid and zygacine concentrations in above ground parts were highest at early vegetative growth stages and decreased over the growing season. In plant reproductive parts, total steroidal alkaloid and zygacine concentrations increased until maturity and then decreased as the plant senesced. The concentrations of steroidal alkaloids reported here suggest that the toxic risk associated with death camas is greatest in the early vegetative growth stages followed by the flower and pod stages. There is a toxic risk to livestock as long as the plant is present, and caution should be taken when grazing livestock in areas with death camas until the plant senesces.     

Blood parasites of livestock in certain Regions in Saudi Arabia

Blood samples from camels, sheep, goats and cattle from six Regions in Saudi Arabia were examined for blood parasites. Asir Region camels were disinfected while those of the Eastern, Jazan, Northern Frontiers, Riyadh and Tabouk Regions were infected with Trypanosoma evansi (5–40%), those of Riyadh and the Eastern Regions were infected with Dipetalonema evansi (1–6%) and those of the Eastern, Jazan and Riyadh Regions were infected with Eperythrozoon species (8–20%). Sheep and goats of all tested regions were infected with Theilaria hirci (4–20% and 6–14%, respectively), Theilaria ovis (5–19% and 6–24%, respectively) and Eperthrozoon ovis (2–9% and 2–8%, respectively). Sheep of the Eastern and Northern Frontiers Regions were also infected with Anaplasma ovis (2%) and also those of the Eastern Region were infected with Babesia motasi (4%) as well. Cattle of Asir and Eastern Regions were infected with Anaplasma marginale (1–3.4%) and those of the Eastern, Jazan and Riyadh Regions were infected with Theileria annulata (11.3–25%) and Eperthrozoon wenyoni (1–4%). Moreover, Jazan cattle were infected with Babesia bigemina (6%) and a benign Theileria species (27%). Some of these parasites are recorded in new localities indicating that they are spreading in the country. Also, this is the first report in Saudi Arabia of D. evansi in camels, A. ovis and B. motasi in sheep and A. marginale and B. bigemina in cattle. These parasites may be introduced into the country with infected livestock infested with the vectors of these parasites. The suspected vectors of the detected parasites in Saudi Arabia is discussed. Follow up surveys of blood parasites are recommended to assess their distribution and infection rates in the livestock of all Regions of Saudi Arabia, to make plans for control measures against their vectors.